Sanding device for motor vehicles



Feb. 17, 1942. MEIDER 2,273,057

SANDING DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Sept. 23, 1940 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 17, 1942 SANDING DEVICE FOR MQTGR VEHICLES Philip Meider, Glassport, Pa., assignor of onehalf to Frank A. Kelley, Glassport, Pa.

Application September 23, 1940, Serial No. 357,972

1 Claim.

This invention relates to sanding devices for motor vehicles, and its general object is to provide a device to be installed within a vehicle, for distributing sand on a slippery roadway in the path of the traction wheels of the vehicle to prevent skidding.

A further object is to provide a sanding device that can be controlled from the drivers seat of the vehicle so that the sand can be instantly released when desired.

Another object is to provide a sanding device that sifts the sand, as well as includes agitating means to prevent clogging, so as to assure free passage of the sand through and from the device and the spreading thereof on the roadway in the path of the wheels.

A still further object is to provide a sanding device that can be readily installed on any type of motor vehicle, that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and extremely efficient in operation, use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view partly in sec.- tion, and illustrates one form of my device installed on a vehicle,

Figure 2 is a front View of the device of the form of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a front view of a modified form.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and particularly to the form of Figures 1 to 3, it will be noted that I have illustrated that form as being installed on a motor vehicle of the coupe type, but either form can be installed on any type of vehicle, including trucks or the like.

The form of Figures 1 to 3 includes a pair of containers l providing reservoirs for sand,

and each container includes a body having a cylindrical upper portion and a conical lower portion, and a top wall 2 integral with the body, the top wall being provided with a flanged inlet opening 3 for introducing sand within the container, as will be apparent. A suitable closure may be provided for the opening, and the closure may be in the form of a plug to be frictionally mounted in the flange, or in the form of a cap to be threaded 0n the flange.

Formed on or otherwise secured to the top Wall. 2, and depending therefrom for disposal centrally through the reservoir to extend below the same is a tube 4 that opens through the top wall, and that portion of the tube within the reservoir is perforated or provided with inlet openings 5 for the passage of sand from the reservoir into the tube, With the result it will be seen that the sand is sifted and only the fine grains or small particles will pass through the openings 5, while any lumps will gravitate to the bottom of the reservoir and be broken up by agitation brought about by shocks and jars imparted to the vehicle while travelling over the roadway.

Threaded or otherwise secured to the extending or lower end of the tube 4 is a valve that controls the passage of the sand from the tube and the valve includes a body 6 having rotatably mounted therein a conical core I provided with a transversely disposed elongate-d port 8. Secured to and depending from the valve body is an arcuate discharge nozzle 9 having a flattened reduced laterally flared discharge end for spreading the sand in a fan like manner, as will be obvious upon inspection of Figure 2.

To prevent caking of the sand or clogging thereof within the tube '4, I provide agitating means that includes a rod l0, extending centrally through the tube and supported by a flanged plug ll frictionally mounted within the upper end of the tube and held accordingly by the flange 12 resting upon the top Wall 2, as'best shown in Figure 3, the rod having a collar [3 fixed thereto and resting on the top of the plug I I, and the rod is rotatably mounted in the plug;

at right angles to each other, as clearly shown in Figure 3. By that construction, it will be obvious that when the rod is manually rotated through the medium of its handle, the sand within the tube being removed from the wall of the latter and is caused to gravitate to the valve, as

well as through the latter and the nozzle, in the i event the valve is open. 7

The containers or reservoirs are secured to or within the vehicle at any convenient place, for disposal in parallelism with each other, by mounting brackets 16 and in the form shown, they are secured to the rear faces of the backs of the seats, and suitably supported by a platform I1, with the nozzles extending rearwardly toward the rear Wheels, so that the sand will be directed on the roadway in the path of the rear wheels, as will be apparent upon inspection of Figure 1.

In order for the valves to be operated in unison and from the drivers seat of the vehicle, it will be noted that the valve cores have ears [8 formed thereon for receiving the bifurcated ends of a connecting rod I9 that is fixed to the ears. The rod [9 has an arm formed thereon and extending therefrom midway its ends, and the arm terminates at its outer end into an eye that has one end of a link rod 2| connected thereto, while its opposite end is connected to the lower end of a hand lever 22 that extends through the floor board of the vehicle and is pivoted to brackets 23 shown as being fixed to the floor board.

The valves are normally held closed by a coil spring 24 that has one end connected to the bracket 25 and its opposite end to the lever. By that construction, it will be obvious that when the lever is moved against the action of the spring, the valves are rotated to open position to allow the sand to gravitate through the nozzles, and when the lever is released, the spring will move the lever to its normal position for closing the valves, as will be apparent.

It Will be noted that the form of Figure 4 includes a single elongated container 26 provided with a flat top wall 2'! having a flanged inlet opening 28 centrally arranged therein and disposed in alignment with the apex of an inverted substantially V-shaped bottom wall 29, and the side walls 39 are inwardly inclined for cooperation with fiat front and rear walls and the bottom wall 29 to provide separate substantially triangular reservoirs communicating with each other by the passage between the inlet opening and the apex of the bottom wall.

Each of the reservoirs have a perforated tube 3! therein, identical to the tubes 4. The tubes 3| extend through the lower ends of the reservoirs and have valves 32 secured thereto, the valves in turn having discharge nozzles 33 secured to and extending rearwardly from the outlet ends of the valves which have their cores connected by a rod 34 provided with an arm 35 adapted to have the link rod 2| connected thereto for operating the valves 32 from the drivers seat and by the spring urged lever 22 in exactly the same manner as the form of Figures 1 to 3.

The tubes 3| have hand operated agitating means 36 therein, which are similar to that in the tubes 4, and of course it will be understood that the form of Figure 4 is installed on the vehicle, with the container 26 thereof fixed therein, in the same manner as the containers l of the other form, so that the sand will be directed through the discharge nozzles 33 on the roadway in the path of the rear wheels to prevent skiding thereof.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A sanding device for a motor vehicle, comprising a pair of containers providing reservoirs, each container including an upper cylindrical portion, a conical lower portion and a top wall provided with an inlet opening, tubes secured to and depending from the top walls for disposal centrally within the containers and through the lower ends thereof, valves secured to the lower ends of the tubes, discharge nozzles secured to the valves for directing sand to the roadway in the path of the traction wheels of the vehicle, a spring urged hand lever linked to the valves for operating the latter in unison from the drivers seat of the vehicle, said tubes having openings therein for the passage of sand from the containers into the tubes for sifting the sand before it reaches the valves, sand agitating means for the tubes and including rods, plugs closing the upper ends of the tubes and having the rods mounted therein for rotation axially of the tubes, said rods extending above the plugs and having their upper end portions bent to provide handles disposed at right angles to the remaining portions of the rods, and teeth formed on the rods along the length of the portions thereof within the tubes.

PHILIP MEIDER. 

